DONIC ‘Zentra Next Carbon’, launched in 2026, is a higher-tier blade in the ‘Zentra’ series designed for players aiming to improve their table tennis skills step-by-step. It is developed for players who have mastered fundamental techniques with ‘Zentra First Allround’ and want to elevate their overall game. While offering higher speed than ‘Zentra First Allround’, it keeps speed to a moderate level and retains a soft feel alongside direct ball feedback, ensuring easy usability and superior control. It is recommended for intermediate-to-advanced amateur players looking to play mainly with continuous topspin.

‘Zentra Next Carbon’ is a blade crafted for entry-level players looking to play more dynamic games, offering optimal performance at a reasonable price.

The construction of ‘Zentra Next Carbon’ is a kind of outer-type construction. The top layer is dyed Koto, the middle layer is dyed Ayous, and the center layer is Kiri. Carbon fiber, presumably soft carbon, is inserted directly under the top layer. Overall thickness is around 5.8mm.

The size of head is around 156mm x 151mm.

The shape of FL (flared) handle is wide type which is somewhat unique but not strange. The width of FL (flared) handle is around 25mm (at head side) ~ 28mm (at bulge) ~ 27mm (at narrowest middle point) ~ 34mm (at the end). And, the thickness of FL handle is around 23mm (at thumb) ~ 25mm (at the end). The top and bottom surfaces of FL handle are relatively flat. The size of ST hasn’t been measured yet.

On the top of the front face of the head, the name of the ‘Zentra’ series is printed; at the bottom, information such as the ply composition is displayed; and on the left, ‘Carbon’ is indicated, emphasizing that this blade is a carbon blade. The design of the printing on the lower part of the head is created to be similar to the logo area design of ‘Desto Next’, the rubber that forms the optimal combination with this blade. Recommended playing style is indicated as ‘ALL+/OFF-‘. (Donic doesn’t use the signs such as OFF- or OFF for expressing speed level but for indicating the recommended playing style. ‘ALL+’ means all-round style which is a bit biased to offensive style, and ‘OFF-‘ means continuous offensive style which lays emphasis on the safety).

At the foreside of handle, transparent plastic lens is applied. Donic logo and the product name are printed in the lens. The name of blade printed in the lens isn’t ‘Zentra Next Carbon’ but just ‘Zentra Carbon’.

There isn’t an Aluminum plate at the end of handle.

Nothing is printed on the backside of head.

‘Zentra Next Carbon’ is a reanably priced carbon blade for entry-level players. Because it is optimized for ordinary players rather than professionals, even players with lower skill levels can enjoy higher speed and control. Donic is recommending the combination with ‘Desto Next’ – a rubber announced simultaneously for amateur players – as the primary setup.

Following are the performance indices of Donic Zentra Next Carbon (avg.weight = 92.4g) :

– Ep = 1.85

– Ec = 1.43 (Ec/Ep = 0.77)

– Vp = 1.10

– Vl = 1.20 (Vl/Vp = 1.09)

Please note that above are average values and can be updated by further measurement.

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